Posted on 12/07/2011 3:59:14 PM PST by TennesseeGirl
Recall on some pet food. Iams, River Run, and Marksman so far. http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm
HEY!!! What'd I *do*?
What I noticed, before switching to Tom Lonsdale’s advice on proper feeding - by that I mean when my dachsies were on the best kibble my vet recommended -
They would desperately eat all sorts of junk outside. Mulch, mowed clumps of grass, flowers, sticks, and all sorts of animal poop.
After switching, they stopped all that. I figure they were trying to get some nutrient that the super-heating and extruding of kibble destroyed, something they could only find outside, in nature.
But, feeding them raw, with the proper percentage of organs, they don’t seem very interested in eating junk. Sure, there will be the odd stick picked up, but it is usually more for a game of chase than consumption. My big dogs did love to snitch veggies from the garden, though, and I always let them have what they wanted - cherry tomatoes, a freshly dug carrot - my female Malinois learned to spot/smell carrot tops, and would dig her own.
I love dogs, in all their dogginess. We humans are so blessed by their constant love and devotion to us, and my heart breaks when I hear of them being mistreated.
I pray for the day when vets realize that dogs do not thrive on kibble. But, given the kibble lobby that infects vet schools, I expect my prayers won’t be answered anytime soon.
Listowner’s privilege ping - I know that many of you are dog owners.
My dog is allergic to meat, she can eat rabbit. Our ancestors and their animals were clearly not subject to 10 vaccines, Frontline. I am well aware of what helps build immune systems, aflatoxin is merely an example.
All of our immune systems are constantly under attack from all of the chemicals, pesticides and GMO’s in our environments which our state and Federal regs force us all to take, Animal, Vegetable and Mineral.
My vet agrees with me that a diet full of foods that have not been affected by the aforementioned is the best choice for animals and humans.
Thanks for your advice, I appreciate all knowledge, it’s learning experience.
I grew up in the woods and now recognize that Lyme’s diseaese is on of the most politically potent ignored diseases on the planet.
To each his or her own. BY “progressive” as a description for my Vet, I should likely have been more specific.
Like me, he is inclined towards Naturopathy as opposed to allopathic medicine.
Forty years ago my sainted Dad who was one of the smartest GP’s that ever lived, was a big believer in the “eat a peck of dirt” theory. He changed his mind in the 70’s with the onset of the proliferation of plastic in our lives as well as the intrusion of industry on the family farm alternative.
We don’t disagree, just see this subject from a different perspective.
I err on the side of my knowledge, you stand on yours.
Merry Christmas!
Purina was something we gave our dogs those evenings when there were no scraps. :)
Oh, she’s a beauty!
Your input is valuable, particularly when it comes to all the chemicals, plastics, and GMO’s!
I didn’t mean to disparage your vet, because I do not know him/her, or the nature of the practice.
I agree with your Dad - we need to try to live our lives as far apart from modern supermarkets as we can - almost impossible to achieve, however. But, we can try, whenever possible. After growing up on the farm, I lived most of my life in rural, deer-tick infested areas. We too, loved living in the woods with our dogs, and I must tell you this!
When we lived on our rural property, woods all around, and our Belgian Malinois patrolled the premises, with random deer adventures, we never found a single tick on either of them. They were fed raw, of course.
Now we are in “senior living” (DH has Parkinson’s, and played golf every single day of his young life back when the chemicals were sprayed daily on the courses.)
We took our little Havanese to visit our son’s very suburban yard right after we adopted him, and what did he come home with! A tick! The very first one I ever saw on one of my dogs....
He hadn’t been on raw all that long, as he had been on kibble for the first two years of his life. We have visited often since then, and he hasn’t picked up a tick since. But, I did tell my son and daughter-in-law to check the grands very carefully when they came in from playing in the yard!
Is your dog allergic to meat in kibble form?
Maybe after having a good spell on fresh rabbit, you could give a trial of other raw meaty bones. Often it isn’t the raw food they are allergic to, but the “manufacturing processed “form, particularly when combined with the other crap they put in even the best dog foods. (grains, potato, pomace, flaxseed, clay, etc).
You do know that all the good stuff is destroyed by the manufacturing process, and they “spray” on the vitamins, etc. after the processing.
Dogs are not designed by our Creator to eat grains. It really does a number on their intestinal tracts, even though they are eager scavengers of anything and everything.
We can, if we want to try, provide the closest to a natural diet for our beloved pets, but we have to understand their digestive tract, how it differs from ours, and do our best to approximate it.
My little guy’s diet isn’t perfect, but it is definitely better than even the most expensive kibble.
Whatever you choose to feed your precious dog, I know you are doing your best, and send you my take on it, just so you have another point of view. We all do the best we can for our dogs, within our budgets and time.
Learning as much as we can about manufactured dog food is a very good idea. Better kibbles are coming on the market all the time, but I still can’t put up with kibble poop, particularly now that we live in the city and have to pick it up or else face nasty fines. Raw-fed poop is so much easier.
Let me know when you see your lovely dog happily grazing in a rice paddie!
There’s aflatoxin itself, then there’s the molds (IIRC) that produce it. This is something that peanuts are also susceptible to, though modern sanitary practices makes it extremely rare. I doubt that contact with the mold would harm any otherwise healthy human. If the pet got the toxin it would be seriously ill and you’d be taking it to the vet, not snuggling it at home.
Cats keep themselves cleaner than dogs (so there!)
I wish my German Shepherd would eat vegetables, she will not touch it. But at ten years old I guess she will not change.
Report says that Iams pet food in question has all been retrieved from store shelves and there are no reports of illness...
Aflotoxin is also often found in peanuts and can cause cancer. One reason I don’t eat peanut butter. I do eat almond butter sometimes.
that dog is so sweet you just want to hug her/him...
You have to avoid cocoa shells as mulch, too. Very bad for dogs, and the aroma is irresistible to them.
LOL judging from your name, you should have eaten like your dog....:O)
It’ll be right next to the sheep paddock.
Thanks!
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